Memory Lane
by Angel Dove1
Summary: Kaiba discovers that Jounouchi has been in a coma for several days after he rejected him. After a light flashed through the hospital room while he was arguing with Yugi, Kaiba finds himself trapped in Jounouchi's memories every time he falls asleep. Will this help bring the two closer together or will they remain far apart?
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters in this story *sobs*

Hello again everyone. Do to me going on vacation soon. Hurray! A week of wonderful no work. I decided that I should upload all the stories I've been working on since the last time I wrote something. This story here is the longest one out of the three I have ready to upload. I didn't want this to be too overwhelming for one chapter so I'm splitting it up in several chapters and uploading it all at once. I hope you enjoy this.

Warnings: Violence, language, yaoi (MaleXmale) and slight out of character

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I glared down at the smaller, spiky haired man before me. I still couldn't fathom why I complied with his endless requests to come to Domino Hospital. It could have been the hundreds of voicemails left every two minutes. Now, looking down at him as he glared up at me, made me rethink my decision. He wordlessly grabbed my arm and pulled me into a nearby room. Sure, now he chooses to say nothing. I quickly pulled my arm out of his grasp. I was about to tell him that he should never touch me when my eyes drifted to the person lying on the bed. At first, I didn't' care who's room Yugi chose to bring me into, but my initial response died on my lips. There lying pale and motionless on the bed was Jounouchi. I understood why Yugi was upset. The last time I saw Jounouchi was about two weeks ago. We didn't leave on good terms, but nothing in my calculating mind could explain the solution as to why Jounouchi was here. Without moving my gaze away from the blond, I questioned his smaller friend, "What happened?

"This is your entire fault."

The shock of the accusation and the venom in Yugi's voice broke my gaze. "How do you figure that? I haven't seen him in over two weeks."

"He's been here for five days."

"You can't accuse me of anything. When he left my office, he was fine. I didn't hurt him."

"Not physically."

"Explain."

Yugi growled and turned his gaze over towards Jounouchi. The anger slowly melted from his eyes, and he gave a heavy sigh before moving closer to the blond. He took his hand carefully into his own. "He had high hopes that he could tell you how he felt. He thought you felt the same. He took a huge chance going to you because he felt incomplete. When you turned him down, his laughter disappeared. He didn't want to fight any longer. I tried to convince him that there was someone other than you out there and that you were a fool to not want him. He didn't care. It was suppose to be you or no one. Nothing I said over the phone could convince him that everything would be okay. I just wanted him to hang on until I returned home with Grandpa. When we returned, the shop was closed and locked when he should have had it open. I went looking for him upstairs, thinking that he might be sick, but he was sleeping on his bed. I tried to wake him several times, but nothing worked. He was never a deep sleeper. We called the ambulance and they brought him here. They said it looks like he hasn't eaten or drank in a couple days. I last spoke to him three days before I found him. There is nothing physically wrong with him. The doctors can't explain why he won't wake, but I've come to believe it has something to do with you. He was fine until you rejected him. That was when everything fell apart."

I rolled my eyes, trying to keep my strong emotionless face up even though I couldn't believe what was happening. It wasn't like I wanted to reject his love; I just couldn't accept it to be the truth. "You can't blame this on me. He came to my office in between my meetings and confessed his love for me. Then, he expected an answer right away. I didn't even get a chance to think. Someone you thought hated you since the moment you met walks back into your life and says that they are in love with you, what would you think? What would you do?"

"I wouldn't cruelly kick him out of my office. I would try to understand."

"Understand?" I roared. "What was there to understand? I didn't think he was serious."

"You didn't even question him," Yugi growled back. He gently placed Jounouchi's hand down and moved back over to me. "You didn't even think about anything except for getting him out of your office."

"I needed time to think. How was I supposed to know that he would take it so hard? The old Jounouchi could take a hit and still get back up."

"This is different! He thought you felt the same. It took everything he had inside of him to walk into your office and say that. Now look at what has happened to him. If you would have just told him that you needed to think about it or let him down a little more gently this wouldn't have happened."

"You don't even know what has happened. All you know is he won't wake up."

"You are despicable, Kaiba. I don't even know why I told him he should try. I thought you would be more understanding. I thought you had changed."

I was about to respond back when a bright light starting from the center of the room exploded around us. I placed my arm over my eyes, attempting to shield them from whatever was blinding me. The light felt warm and strangely familiar as if I felt something like this before. When the light faded, I looked down at Yugi who had fallen silent and had his hand over his heart. I looked up at Jounouchi who looked as if that light didn't faze him. I sighed and noticed that my afternoon appointment would be arriving at my office soon. "We'll discuss this later when I don't have someplace to be." Yugi nodded and remained silent. It was as if that light calmed him completely. I didn't question it.

I was about to leave the hospital quickly when a sudden thought came to my mind. Were Yugi and his grandfather able to handle the hospital costs of a coma patient? I don't know why I cared or even what prompted me to stop at the nurse's station. I pulled out one of my business cards and handed it to the black haired nurse sitting by the computer. "I'm Kaiba Seto. I would like to talk to the doctor in charge of Jounouchi Katsuya however I'm late for a meeting at this moment. If you could give him my card I would appreciate it. Also, I would like any medical bills regarding him to be charged to me. I will pay for everything he may need."

The nurse nodded. "Of course, Kaiba-sama. May I ask the reason for wanting to talk to Jounouchi-san's doctor?"

"Let him know that I will become his power of attorney and all decisions will go through me."

The nurse didn't question further. It was true I was planning on making that happen, but first I had to convince his next of kin to sign the papers. "When would be a good time for the doctor to call?"

I glanced down at my watch. "Anytime after five. The paperwork should be finalized and filed with the appropriate personnel in the hospital. Thank you." I turned and left the nurse, pulling out my cellphone as I walked through the hallways. "Roland, get power of attorney papers drawn for Jounouchi Katsuya. Then find out who his next of kin would be and have them signed. I want all decisions regarding his health to come through me since I'll be paying for everything he needs. Have everything filed with the hospital no later than five. I don't care how you get it done just do it." I hung up the phone without a response, not even thinking about asking Yugi if he was the next of kin considering that he was allowed without question into Jounouchi's room. It didn't matter at this point. I had a closing deal with the artist of my new game this afternoon and it looked like I would be a minute or two late. I growled in annoyance. I hated being late.

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The day was long and exhausting. I found myself pulling my body through the hallways of my empty mansion. With Mokuba away to college, everything felt strangely lonely. I placed my suitcase on the table by the door so I could just grab it and go the next day. I went through the events of only a few hours ago. It turned out Yugi was the next of kin, and it took several hours to convince Yugi that I was only looking at his best of interest. I wanted to guarantee that Jounouchi will get the best doctors known to man. I rubbed my eyes and sat down on the stairs. The reality of the situation had been plaguing me the entire ride home. Something clearly had to be wrong with Jounouchi in order to lock him in that coma. At first, I had planned on moving Jounouchi into one of my private hospitals to have one of my doctors testing him, but his doctor surprised me. He had done all the main tests already and they all came back negative for anything serious. He was extremely optimistic that he would properly diagnose Jounouchi and pull him out of the coma. Yugi would be more happy if I left him there than automatically moving him.

I pulled my jacket off and draped it over the railing. Rubbing my eyes again, I rose and continued upstairs to my room. I loosened my tie along the way and left it hanging around my neck. I opened my door and shut it before staggering over to the bed. Collapsing face down on the mattress, I managed to unbutton my shirt slightly before curling up on the bed. I didn't care that I was still fully clothed or not under the covers. I just wanted sleep and couldn't understand why I was extremely tired. I've had other days more stressful than this one, and I don't recall being this tired afterwards. Finally willing my body to curl under the comforter. I fell asleep quickly, knowing that tomorrow was another day.

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Quiet sobs coming from a child awoke me from my deep sleep. My eyes slid open, trying to find the child that obviously snuck into my house. I don't know how he or she managed it, but I hated seeing children cry. The first thing that shocked me when I opened my eyes was that I wasn't in my room and that I was standing by a wall. I moved my hands in front of my face, seeing that I wasn't tied down. I was confused on how I got in that room. I knew for a fact that I was in my room when I fell asleep. I ignored that for the time being, hearing the sobs growing. I looked around the room until I spotted a blond haired child curled up in the corner beside a dresser. I moved slowly over towards the small child. "What's wrong, little one?" I whispered, but the child didn't even budge. I went to place my hands on his trembling shoulders but they moved right through him. I gasped and backed away from the child, looking at my hands.

They seemed normal to me and I wasn't falling through the floor. I reached slowly towards the dresser beside the child and watched my hand go through it. I moved over towards the wall and placed my hand against it. It was like I couldn't touch anything in the room and I couldn't leave it. I heard footsteps coming. The child's head shot up, giving me perfect view of him. He looked like a smaller version of Jounouchi. The blond moved quickly and slid underneath the bed. I remained in the corner, knowing that I couldn't do anything in this strange world. "You little brat, where are you?" The tall blond man leant down and grabbed Jounouchi by his foot, dragging him out from under the bed.

Jounouchi screamed as the man twisted his foot and tossed him on the bed. "Your teacher called, concerned that you are looking sick. Why would she think that?"

Jounouchi backed away from his father and looked up at him with scared eyes. "I-I don't know, Father." The older man grabbed his son's arm and twisted it behind his back. Jounouchi cried out. "I'm sorry, Father," he screamed.

I growled, unable to watch anymore. I tried to grab Jounouchi's father, but much like before my hand slid right through him. I watched in horror as he pulled his hand back and slammed it into his son's stomach. He threw him across the floor, hearing Jounouchi's back and head smashed into the nearby wall. "Don't let it happen again."

Jounouchi continued to tremble and cry. "I-it won't, Father." His father snorted and walked out of the room. I knelt down in front of the younger version of Jounouchi, wishing that I could touch him. I hated when people abused children. Even though Gozaburo rarely physically abused me, he caused me enough mental strain to turn me into someone I never wanted to be. The blond pulled himself across the floor and slid back under the bed. I could still hear his sobs. I closed my eyes for a second, hoping that this wasn't a real memory from Jounouchi's past.

When I opened my eyes again, I was staring at the familiar ceiling in my room. I felt moisture around my heavy, tired eyes. I wiped the obvious tears away and rolled on my side, feeling far more exhausted than when I went to sleep last night. I glanced at the clock, noting that I could go back to sleep for another two hours, but the lingering affects from the dream left me unable to fall back to sleep. I rolled on my back and continued to stare up at the ceiling. I felt restless and knew that there was no way I could go back to sleep. Pulling myself out of bed, I staggered my way towards the bathroom, shedding my clothes along the way.

The hot water was enough to soothe my sore muscles but not enough to wake me. I towel dried my hair as I chose the outfit for the day. Even though it was six months since Mokuba started college and decided to dorm there, it felt strange not having to wake him in the morning. I came and left whenever I felt. After dressing, I moved downstairs to retrieve my suitcase and start the day. It was too early to start work and the dream was still bothering me. I took one of the simpler model car and drove down to the hospital. Now that I was Jounouchi's next of kin, I could access his medical reports without question. I wondered how far back they had. Did Jounouchi ever go to the hospital for the damaged done to him?

The nurse was of course different from the night before, but I had everything filed correctly. "I'm Kaiba Seto and I would like to see Jounouchi Katsuya's medical records." The red haired nurse looked up at him before moving over towards the thick binders behind her. I thought it was strange that she didn't ask for my identification, but I'm used to people recognizing me. She set the binder down in front of me. "Thank you." I started flipping through the large book. "Is all of his records here? I'm looking for something in his childhood."

The nurse looked up at me. "The older documents are usually filed elsewhere, but since Jounouchi-san hasn't been to the doctors very often, they are all here."

"What do you mean?"

"It looks like when he was a child, he was always going to the doctors for check ups and illnesses, but it seems after he turned about eight or nine, he stopped coming as often." I was shocked. That was about the age I would guess Jounouchi was as in my dream. The nurse flipped towards the older information.

I looked over the information noticing that there was limited information on injuries, but there was some. "Did the doctors do a complete physical exam of him when they brought him in?"

The nurse walked back over to me, clearly becoming annoyed that I wouldn't let her continue her work. She flipped the binder back over towards her and looked through the pages. She stopped at the page that showed a drawing of a body and marks along the sketch. "They recorded several scars around his body and it looks like he might have fractured or broke his ankle at some time but it was never set right. The doctor doesn't believe that it has anything to do with the coma."

I closed the binder. "Thank you." Quickly walking into Jounouchi room, I moved over to his bed, noticing that Yugi wasn't here. I pulled up the chair and sat next to Jounouchi. I don't like to admit that supernatural things always happen when Yugi's involved, but that flash of light from yesterday made me suspicious. I could pass off last nights dream as just that a dream, but with the fact that they found something wrong with his ankle, I began to believe it was more of a memory. It still doesn't explain how I got that memory unless that light was the reason for the memory. If I was affected by the light, perhaps Yugi was as well. That was something to ask him about later.

I placed my hand on Jounouchi's. I don't know what that light was, but I don't think Jounouchi had anything to do with it. He never possessed the magical abilities that Yugi and the other members of the Millennium Items had, but I've been wrong on several occasions before. "I had a dream about what I think happened to you when you were a child. I don't know what age you were when your father beat you like that. I'm sure I didn't even know you around that time. In fact, I find it hard to believe that you were abused. If I hadn't checked your medical records, I would have thought it was just a strange dream. You don't act like someone that's been abused their entire life or you don't show the signs to someone like me. They always say that abuse victims can tell when someone else was abused. Apparently that's not true. Gozaburo mentally abused and occasionally physically abused me for years. I could never tell if I should take his threats seriously. I wanted to protect Mokuba from all of it. He would threaten him often when I didn't do what he said. 'Kaiba's don't show emotions.' He said that everyday to me. He wouldn't let me sleep or eat and sometimes wouldn't even let me sit if I were to cry or show any sort of emotion. I closed myself off, Jounouchi. To the world. To everyone even my own little brother. The damaged that Gozaburo did to me was enough and there was no way he was going to hurt my little brother from beyond the grave. I should have known that it was impossible. To this day he still hurts Mokuba through me."

I sighed deeply. "No, I hurt Mokuba. He drilled that personality so far inside of me that when I'm not careful, I revert back to it. I'm sorry that I hurt you. You can't lie this time and say I didn't. I guess that's what it means to be trapped for life. You trap yourself inside of the abusive world; too afraid to go far from your comfort zone and explore. You tell yourself that there's nothing out there worth looking for. They'll just hurt me if I try. At least here I know what type of pain it is. I can endure it. I'm strong inside of this world. Out there, I'm lost. Afraid of finding someone worse than Gozaburo. Are you afraid, Jounouchi? Yugi didn't mention that you still associate with your father just that you live above the game shop. Actually he didn't mention your father at all. Did you manage to do what I could not and break from of your world? Did you find someone worse than your father? Is that why you are trapped inside of that world? The doctors don't know why you won't wake from the coma." I stopped for a moment. I couldn't believe I was telling him everything, but it felt like he had to know. There was no way I could get my words to stop. Not now, not when I finally admitted to myself and someone else that I'm not better. I never healed from Gozaburo's tortures. He was still there plaguing my thoughts. When would he go away? Never?

I squeezed Jounouchi's hand. "Am I the one that hurt you worse than your father? If that is the reason for this coma please wake up. You don't have to be afraid of me torturing you or hurting you more than I've already had. Yugi cares deeply for you. You don't want to worry him more. In the event that I am wrong, I'll keep coming back until you wake. Then you can give me your verdict. I need to get to work soon. I'll be back later on tonight." I squeezed his hand one last time and rose from my seat. I stopped dead when I saw Yugi standing in the doorway. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you like that. I was upset. You had a dream last night about his past?"

"Maybe. Did you?"

"No. It appears that that light only affected you. At least only you at this moment."

"Any ideas on why."

Yugi sighed and moved around the bed and sat in the chair I rose from. "My guess is that either Jounouchi's magical abilities surfaced, or he wanted to show you something with his memories. My magical abilities also could have triggered from the anger I was feeling towards you. That won't explain why you dreamed about Jounouchi's past. So, my guess is that we both triggered the light. Jounouchi was probably trying to get us not to fight, and I was trying to get you to see what you didn't understand."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and glanced at him. "Let's just say for once I believe your fairytales about magic. I didn't think Jounouchi had magical abilities from the past and I don't think he would care if you were fighting with me."

Yugi smiled softly down at Jounouchi and squeezed his hand. "Jounouchi had something that triggered after Malik took control of his mind. I could sense it afterwards. He could have been part of Atemu's past and we just didn't see him. Even now, I barely sense the magic inside of him. It is like it weakened since yesterday. I'm surprised you didn't sense the difference, but I guess you don't pay attention to any of that. As for not fighting with you, Jounouchi never wanted me to make you pay for hurting him. He said that you must have had your reasons and nothing would make you get together with him. Don't think that just because of that light yesterday means I'll accept you. I'll let you have the power over his medical attention only because there wasn't much money left in order to keep him here. I appreciate your help, but know this, Kaiba, don't you think for a second I'm going to let you do something horrible to him. If I suspect that you aren't caring enough for him, I'll legally bring him back to me and you won't be allowed anywhere near him."

I rolled my eyes and shifted my weight to the other foot and switched my briefcase to the other hand. "Do you not think I have any sense of honor? I won't do anything harmful to him. In fact, you heard me. I didn't mean to hurt him to begin with. If you don't mind, I need to get to work. I trust that you'll watch him during the day. If he wakes, call me." I turned and left, not wanting to see the anger inside of his eyes anymore. I know I did wrong by Jounouchi, but I didn't want to hurt him anymore. I only wanted to assist in his waking and recovery. If only I could discover the reason to the coma and find the solution. Somewhere inside of me was craving to be the prince that wakes Sleeping Beauty. Metaphorically speaking of course. I don't think of him as a damsel in distress. I believe he is perfectly capable of defending himself. I moved swiftly through the hallways and outside to the awaiting limousine. After sitting down on the soft leather, I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed them with my free hand. Exhausted, I prepared my mind for another day.

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I returned to the hospital later that night. I was half tempted to go straight home and sleep the rest of the night away; however, I did promise Jounouchi I would return that night. I didn't want to disappoint him. I stopped in my stroll towards his room. Why would I care if I disappointed Jounouchi? I sighed. Who am I kidding? At this moment I would do anything for the sleeping blond. I yawned and entered into his room surprised that Yugi wasn't there. I glanced at the clock, noting that it was two hours before visiting hours are over. He did know that I was returning this evening; perhaps he wanted to avoid me. I pulled the chair over to Jounouchi's bed and squeezed his hand. "I'm back. How long did Yugi stay with you?"

I yawned and slouch more in the chair, thinking about what the doctor said about talking to Jounouchi. He said that some coma patients do listen to people talking to them and it actually helps some of them return. "I'm designing a new game. This time it's going to be more of a RPG with lots of side quests that would determine not only what type of ending you get but what characters join your party. I just finished approving the character designs and I'm talking to the writers tomorrow." I rubbed my eyes and yawned again. Thinking about everything I still had to do in order to proceed with the game was making me exhausted. Before I knew it, my words stopped and I fell asleep in the chair. I remember telling myself that closing my eyes for five minutes will be enough to stay awake for the last couple hours of visiting time


	2. Chapter 2

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Gargled voices made me open my eyes. At first, all I saw was darkness. I didn't hear the usual beeping noise of Jounouchi's heart monitor. Finally my eyes adjusted to the lack of light. I was standing in a dirty room. Another memory. I must have fallen asleep in the chair sitting next to Jounouchi. The muffled voices were coming from the door on the other side of the room. I moved from the corner and knelt in front of the boy I knew to be Jounouchi. He was unconscious on the floor with his arms tied tightly behind his back. I placed my hand just over his shoulder, knowing that I wouldn't be able to touch him. Looking at him more closely, I could see the bruises and cuts on his face.

The door opened quickly with two men still arguing as they entered. I stood next to Jounouchi, watching their angry faces. "You said you got this kid in a good neighborhood. He's scum. We aren't going to get anything from his parents."

"How as I suppose to know? What do you want to do with him?"

The taller one with dark hair sighed and looked down at Jounouchi. He knelt down in front of the boy and smiled. "He could fetch a good price with the slavers. No one will miss him. We can turn this into our advantage. He looks like a mix with that blond hair." I growled, not liking where this was going. How could someone be this repulsive? They kidnapped Jounouchi to try to get a ransom on him and when they discovered he was from a low class family they decided to sell him to an underground slave ring.

Jounouchi stirred beside me and opened his eyes. Tears started to form in his eyes as he stared at the man in front of him. "Look who woke up. Got a couple questions for you, Kid. What nationality are you?" A few tears spilled down his face. The man slapped Jounouchi hard enough to cause an echo around the room. I felt myself moving closer to the man with the intent of beating him senseless when the reality of the situation stopped me. I couldn't do anything for Jounouchi. The only hope I had inside of me was the knowledge that something happened that helped Jounouchi escape this fate.

"Don't you know this language?" The man slapped him again, causing Jounouchi to cry harder.

"J-Japanese and American."

"Good. Grab him and let's go. We only have an hour to get there and get him into the ring."

The other man grabbed Jounouchi and tossed him over his shoulder. The blond didn't even fight. He continued to sob as if there was no way he could escape. The room shifted into another one. This one had me violently ill. There was nearly naked children everywhere. Children of all ages. They were huddled in the corners of their cells, some crying, and some staring fearfully at the three men talking in front of me. They had Jounouchi in the middle of them. The new man was tilting his head around and running his fingers through his hair. The blond shivered and tried to move away from the man examining him but the other two men held him firmly by the shoulder.

"Untouched?" The new man with glasses said.

"Of course," the taller kidnapper replied.

"What class?"

"Low. Don't even know who he belongs to."

The leader of the ring moved over to a desk at the end of the cells and glanced at his computer. After a few clicks, he opened up a drawer and threw a bag across the desk. "Everything clears. Now, get lost." He walked over towards Jounouchi and pulled him down the hallway, ignoring the two kidnappers. I followed after him quickly, determined to know if this man hurt Jounouchi. I swore that if he was still alive, I would kill this man and take this ring down not that I wasn't going to destroy the ring anway.

He stopped outside of a room and pulled Jounouchi inside. I was in shock by the room. There was a medical bed sitting near the wall with several chains attached to each leg. I nearly vomited looking at the bloody tools and chains hanging around the room. The man lifted Jounouchi up and chained one of his arms to the bed. "Any health problems?" Jounouchi continued to shake on the bed and stared at the man as if he didn't understand what he was saying. The man grabbed his free arm and painfully twisted it behind his back. Jounouchi screamed as the tears fell down his cheeks. "I will not ask twice. Answer me."

"N-no."

"Did you break any bones?"

"N-no."

"Take your clothes off."

Jounouchi's eyes widened and he tried to back away from the man. He shook his head and continued to sob. I was shocked by the fact that Jounouchi seemed to realize what the man was asking. It made me sick that he comprehended. It was like someone threatened him to this awful result for his misbehavior. The man became furious when Jounouchi didn't obey. He grabbed the boy and threw him on the ground, stepping on his back. I clenched my hands and shouted at the image before me. "Why are you showing me this when you know I can't help you? Are you doing this to hurt me nearly as much as I hurt you? I understand that it took everything in you to tell me that you loved me. I know I did something horrible to you. I'm sorry." I bowed my head, knowing that I'm showing more weakness than normal. Memories of my childhood bombarded my senses. Even though Gozaburo never did something like this to me, it didn't mean that I was unaffected by the abuse. I couldn't watch this anymore. It caused feelings of helplessness and depression that grew into anger. I glared at the man that by that moment removed everything but Jounouchi's underwear.

Suddenly the door burst open and a group of men dressed in black grabbed the man I vowed vengeance on and slammed him against the wall. Seeing that they were part of the police force, I moved around the room until I saw Jounouchi. In that split second, the blond managed to crawl under the bed and pushed himself against the wall. I knelt down to look at him. He was shivering and crying. I glanced up when a young woman knelt beside me. She took her black helmet off and brushed her fingers through her short blonde hair. "Sweetie, you're safe. Can you come out from under the bed? I want to see if he hurt you."

Jounouchi pulled his legs closer to his chest and buried his head in his legs. "I know your scared, Honey. I'm not going to hurt you. Please come out."

Another man walked beside the woman. "Just move the bed out of the way or pull on the chain."

"He's scared enough as it is," she hissed. "I'll get him out my way without scaring him." I smiled at the woman. She knew something about children who've had a traumatic experience. The other guy grunted and moved out of the room.

"I'm sorry about him, Sweetie. Let's get you somewhere safe, okay?" She moved her hand under the bed. I could see Jounouchi slowly moving towards the hand and with the help of the woman, slid out from underneath the bed. "Thank you. Now let's get this chain off you and get some warm clothes and a cup of hot chocolate." It took several minutes to get Jounouchi free and clothed. The woman led Jounouchi over to one of the ambulances and asked him to wait there while he got a cup of hot chocolate. I glanced around, seeing all the police taking care of what looked like a hundred children.

I frowned and knelt in front of Jounouchi. "I wish I could touch you right now, giving you the security you're probably craving. Considering that you're not much older than the last memory, I'm guessing your father is still abusive and that police woman doesn't know." The woman returned and handed him the cup.

"Drink that slowly. I can see your face is a little red. Did someone hit you?" Jounouchi nodded. "Does anything hurt?" He shook his head. "We need to take you to the hospital soon."

Jounouchi started to shake and cry. He shook his head and moved away from her. "Please…just want to go home."

The woman smiled softly. "Will you let this paramedic make sure you're okay then I can drive you home?" Jounouchi nodded, setting his untouched drink down. "I'll be standing right over there. Don't be scared, okay?"

The image started to fade into black the second the paramedic climbed out of the back of the ambulance. I could see a new image starting to form but my body was shaking. I jerked awake, startled that I was suddenly back in the hospital room where Jounouchi was lying, trapped in a coma. Confused, I looked beside me to see a nurse shaking me. "Kaiba-sama, visiting hours are over. You should go home and sleep." Still slightly confused, I stared at her like she was speaking a language I didn't know. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes." I squeezed Jounouchi's hand and headed out of the room. I was trembling still from the cold or the shock of being woken from that memory. I yawned and exited the hospital where the limousine waited for me. At least I can do research on that ring. I knew I wasn't going to sleep the rest of the night.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I felt my energy dwindling down to nothing. These endless nights of walking through Jounouchi memories reeked havoc with my schedule. A week had passed since the first memory. Every night was the same thing. I would either watch his father beating him or some other tragic event that had my stomach churning at the thought. I stared at the screen in front of me. All the numbers and words mixed together to form the gargled message in front of me. Growling, I slammed my hand down on the keyboard causing more senseless letters to appear on the document. I haven't seen nor heard from Yugi since he discovered that I had been walking down memory lane with Jounouchi's subconscious. I rubbed my sore eyes, willing the tears to not fall. The last thing I needed was for someone to think I had been crying, even though I'm sure everyone in the building knows I haven't been sleeping.

All my staff used to avoid me on normal days, now I come through the door and they run like skittish creatures. I put my head down on the desk and closed my eyes, fighting an frivolous battle to stay awake. I knew eventually everything would collide into one and land me in the hospital bed next to Jounouchi, but my pride refused to give up. I was going to be the victor in this contest, not Jounouchi. Determined to win at all cost, I lifted my head and stared at the document once more. I deleted the added lines and sent the email back to the sender informing them that they're weekly report was correct and matched all my records.

I slipped further down the leather chair, crossing my legs at my ankles instead of my thighs like I usually do. I slipped my drawer open; retrieve more pain relievers for the eternal headache that plagues me everyday. Swallowing them without water, I moved on to the next email and cringed. Another set back in the production of my newest game. Life always had to make things worst when you were hoping for some good news. I rolled my eyes and simply responded to them to fix the problem. Without realizing it, my body had slipped further down the chair and my tired eyes closed longer than it took to blink them.

HHHHHHHHHHHH

When I opened my eyes again, I swore to myself. After having a dream about Jounouchi's life every day for a week, I was able to instantly recognize it. The room was different from all others. In fact, as the dream revealed more, I was able to recognize that I was standing in a large opened warehouse. Several boxes lined the walls, cobwebs everywhere and a horrible stench of mildew. Whatever this place was, the person didn't use it anymore. I found it odd that instead of seeing Jounouchi straight off that I waited in the room for him to enter followed by three other men. He was older than the child I had been seeing, about the age he was when I first met him.

He didn't struggle with the men nor did it seem like he wanted to be there. He turned and faced them with his back to the wall. The three men stood side by side with the largest in the middle. He sneered at Jounouchi and crossed his arms. "Care to explain?"

"No."

"That's not the right answer. Do you want to try again?"

"What difference would it make?"

"Whether I kill you or they do."

The two goons around the leader grabbed Jounouchi. After a few minutes of struggle, they managed to overpower Jounouchi and tie his hands to the hook above him. Jounouchi glared daggers at them, obviously ignoring the blood dripping from his split lip. One of the goons had a bruised eye while the other one was struggling to get his nose to stopped bleeding. "Why are you disappointing me now? You came back to the gang only to betray us."

The leader pushed Jounouchi against the wall and whispered in his ear. "Do you think any of your classmates care that you tried to save their lives? I bet they don't even know your name. You mean nothing to them. You are nothing more than a dog that follows his master's orders. Don't think that just because I fucked you it gives you the right to do what you wish. You were just there when I needed it. That's all you're good for and nothing more. No one would ever love a worthless dog like you. You betrayed me, Jounouchi and now you must pay." The leader pulled back his arm and placed something directly above Jounouchi's heart.

I watched as he grounded his teeth, doing anything he could to stop himself from screaming. When the man moved away from him, there was a burnt mark on his shirt and Jounouchi was breathing rapidly. "Do what you want and then kill him. Drop his body somewhere away from here. No one will miss him."

The two goons laughed before taking out what I could see were stun guns. The brutality lasted for too long. They alternated between punching and shocking him. By the time they were done, Jounouchi was nothing more but a bloody mess. I was shocked by the brutality but impressed by Jounouchi's resolve. I wouldn't wish this upon him. I knew he was strong. To be able to survive this and still smile is strength that I didn't believe I possess. They were obviously too scared to kill Jounouchi directly. They cut his lifeless body down and carried the barely breathing man out of the warehouse. "Jounouchi," I whispered, watching as the areas moved around me. They dumped him like trash into a nearby dumpster.

At first, I thought the dream would end there, but it didn't. Instead of waking up in my office, I watched as the sunset between the buildings. I heard footsteps first. Thinking that they were returning, I moved towards the blond that I wanted to protect even though I knew I couldn't. My eyes widened seeing not only Jounouchi's friend Honda running down the alleyway but Yugi. Yugi growled unnaturally, reminding me of the pharaoh that once resided inside of him. "He needs to get to the hospital. I'll handle Hirutani."

"Yugi, it's dangerous."

"Don't worry about me. Take care of Jounouchi."

Before Honda could say more, Yugi disappeared through a small alleyway. I heard him curse behind me before picking up Jounouchi. "I'm sorry, Jounouchi. I should have gotten here sooner."

HHHHHHHHHHH

Slowly I opened my eyes and stared at the computer in front of me. That was the longest intense memory so far. I touched my cheek, feeling wetness on it. I scrubbed the tears off my cheeks, fearful that someone would walk in and see me like that. I glanced at the clock on the computer, realizing that it was a little before four in the afternoon. I was sure if I left now, I might get a chance to see Yugi. I needed to know what happened to that Hirutani. Logging my computer off, I grabbed my briefcase and walked out of my office, telling my secretary that I was leaving for the day. She didn't question me, not like I expected her to. The ride to the hospital seemed longer than normal as if the world didn't want me to talk to Yugi.

Finally the limousine stopped in front of the hospital. I got out just in time to see Yugi leaving through the door. "Motou," I shouted, drawing his attention to me.

"What do you want?"

Even though he was constantly rude to me lately, the initial shock was always there. The memory of him in high school, always positive and never said cruel things was fresh in my mind. "Do you remember Hirutani?"

Yugi glared up at me. "What about him? Did you see what he did to Jounouchi?"

"What did you do to him?" I countered.

"I did nothing. Atemu sent his mind to the shadow realm. It wasn't like he didn't deserve it."

"I wasn't questioning why you or Atemu tortured him. I was making sure justice was done."

Yugi sighed and crossed his arms. "He remains to this day in a mental hospital, dead to the world. Any other questions you would like to ask? Did you get to the best part yet?"

I blinked. "Best part? What part of anything I'm seeing in Jounouchi's past is the best part?"

"Perhaps he'll show you or whoever is letting you see his past. Enjoy, Kaiba," he said and walked away. I didn't bother stopping him. Apparently something happened to Jounouchi that was linked to me. That was the only solution to Yugi's cruel words. I moved into the hospital to spend my usual time with Jounouchi. I didn't talk to him like I did the first time. I just secretly held his hand when I was alone in the room.

HHHHHHHHHH

Jounouchi was getting older now. I stared at the blond as he moved about what I concluded was his room shirtless. He had several scars on his arms and chest from his father's abuse. Again, I don't remember closing my eyes, but the frequency of the memories were increasing. It was like they were dragging me into the dream world. I knew it wouldn't take long until the memories met with present time. He grabbed a plain white shirt and pulled it over his head before looking at himself in the mirror. He made sure every scar was covered before walking out of the house; pass the strangely spotless rooms. It had to be Yugi's house. I recognized the outfit as the one he wore when I last saw him, but it was unclear if he was heading to Kaiba Corp. He seemed nervous and it was raining outside. Dread filled me. It was raining that day. I remembered that day clearly, but couldn't recall the reason why. I knew it was one of things that I regretted, but I never remembered details this extreme before.

Jounouchi stood outside my building in the rain, letting his clothes absorb the water. It was like he was debating on actually going inside. A sudden flash of lighting caused him to jump and actually walk into my building. No one stopped him on the way up to my office, but that was normal considering that if my secretary didn't recognize him or if he didn't have an appointment, he wouldn't get pass that point. He used the reflection in the metal of the elevator door to fix his damp hair and clothes. He did everything he could to make himself more presentable in order to see me.

To my surprise, my secretary looked up at him and sighed. She stood up and moved over towards him, handing him a few tissues to dry his face. "You do realize that he might not be in the best of moods right now. His first appointment went over by an hour. I could hear all of them yelling at each other. He's behind on everything."

Jounouchi shook his head. "If I don't do this now, I won't ever."

She took the tissues out of his hand and walked back to the desk. She used the phone to announce to me that my next appointment was there. I could hear the irritation in my voice when I answered her. It was strange seeing me typing rapidly on the keyboard. My other self glanced up at Jounouchi and glared. "I can't believe she gave you an appointment with me. Get out. I have no time to listen to you."

Jounouchi shut the door gently behind him and walked over towards me, clearly not bothered by my glare. "I just need five minutes."

"Talk fast then."

"I've wanted to tell you something for a few months now. It started after we graduated from high school and went our separate ways. I realized that I was missing something."

"Not fast enough."

Jounouchi sighed. "Fine. I'll come out and say it. I'm in love with you."

I watched as my infamous emotionless mask fell for a split second before being replaced with a stronger one. "Get out of my office. I don't share the same feelings nor do I have the time to deal with someone like you. Why would I want to be seen with someone as low class as you?"

Jounouchi turned towards the door and for the first time I saw tears collecting in his eyes. He left the office quietly. I knew that I didn't mean any of that, but he didn't. He didn't deserve the rage I had building all morning as the day continued to get worse. I wondered what my reaction would have been if he chose a different day or time. My secretary glanced up with a frown. "I'm sorry. He can be horrible sometimes. Maybe try again when he's calmer."

Jounouchi placed a smile on his face and looked directly at her. "I knew it was a long shot anyway. Thanks for your help." He entered the elevator just as it opened, ignoring her calling his name. He walked slowly out of my building into the pouring rain. More lighting flashed, but unlike earlier, he didn't react. The rain drenched him quickly, but his body didn't even shiver from the cold. He walked through the streets with his head down, ignoring the world around him. It seemed like he was going in circles, the buildings were constantly repeating themselves. Finally he stopped and stared up at the dark sky. It was like he made up his mind, the way he nodded to himself and chose a street two blocks from his currant location. He moved quietly through the alleyways until he was somewhere I didn't recognize. There was a man at the end of the alleyway, smoking a cigarette. He silently watched Jounouchi approach.

"How much?"

The man stared at him as if trying to read. "How much you got?"

Jounouchi pulled out all the cash he had on him which wasn't much, but it was enough to stratify the man. I thought he was buying drugs and was about to lose all respect for him until I saw the man hand him a gun from under his jacket. He pulled out a small bag that held one bullet. "That's all the bullets you get."

Jounouchi shrugged and took everything. "I just need one," he mumbled, moving back through the alleyways with the gun tucked into his waistband. I watched him enter into the game shop, completely shocked that he bought a gun and only needed one bullet. I didn't believe what I saw. He pulled the gun out of his pants and placed it on the desk in front of him. He sat on his bed and stared at the weapon.

"Don't do it," I found myself whispering. The doctors didn't find anything to explain why he was in the coma. I'm sure they would have noticed a bullet hole. I know he didn't do it, but it was the thought that destroyed me. He couldn't have lost all hope for living because of me.

He reached his hand over to the gun, gently caressing the handle and barrel. He placed the bullet into the gun before setting it back down again. I was about to shout again when he moved his hand away and clench them into a fist. "I am worthless, pathetic. I'm the scum of the world that no one should have to deal with." He grabbed the gun quickly and held it to his head.

"Jounouchi, no!"

He slammed it down on the bed and wrapped his arms around his legs, sobbing. I moved over to the bed and sat down on the bed. I was surprised that I was able to touch it. "Painful to watch isn't it?" I jerked my head up to see a light forming, revealing Jounouchi. "Does it hurt knowing that you've driven another person to that fate?"

I stared up at him. Anger boiled inside of me. He was controlling this whole thing. Showing me everything terrible that happened to him. "My secretary warned you. I didn't know that you were weak and cowardly. I showed you a little of anger and you run away to kill yourself. Strange how our fights never ended in that before. You can't blame this one me. You survived everything before this day and yet you decide to kill yourself because I snapped at you. Don't you know that our relationship could never work if you take everything I say seriously?"

Jounouchi glared at me. "So, I'm supposed to ignore everything you say. When you tell me to get lost, I should ignore that and stay with you. What type of person trained you to have that warped sense of reality? You can't expect anyone to live like that. So, tell me something, Kaiba. Did Gozaburo teach you that every day before he pampered your ass?"

I stood up and glared at him. "How dare you say that I'm spoiled? He never gave me anything without sacrificing something first. You think you had it tough. Physical pain will fade and vanish. The emotional and mental pain stays with your for years. No matter what the psychologist said, it doesn't fix what was screwed up in my head. No matter how many times someone says I should just smile more, think more positively. Like that would solve anything. No one knows what it was like to constantly be told you are worth nothing even though you knew deep down you were worth more. I may have teased you, told you things to get a rise out of you, but I never drilled it into you mind like Gozaburo did to me. You want to walk through memories than use your abilities to see my past. Or better yet, walk through my mind and you might find answers to your questions." I walked over to him, ignoring the mobbing memory. "A weak person doesn't have the courage to get up and try again. A weak person concedes defeat and chooses to do what you were trying to do. I'm stronger than you because out of all the times I wanted to slice my wrists, jump off a bridge or shot myself in the head, I never did it. I realize life would be easier for so many people if I were to die, but I haven't given up yet."

Jounouchi clenched his fists and stood tall even though he was still slightly smaller than me. He looked up in my eyes. "You telling me that you blame your warped personality on the fact that Gozaburo mentally abused you. And, now you're saying that you went through worse because it takes longer to heal mental abuse than physical. What about the effects physical abuse has on the mind? Have you thought about something like that? I don't like being near someone that is angry because I flinch every time thinking that they are going to hit me. Every time I do something wrong I try to hide it and pray that no one finds out. I'm afraid that I would get hurt for my mistake."

I growled. "Then why do you love me! I am nothing but anger. Everything about me is always anger. I have never had a moment where my mind thought of nothing that wouldn't upset me. Why do you not flinch away from my anger now?"

"I trust you," Jounouchi said more quietly. "I trust the fact that you wouldn't ever hit me. I've seen you beyond angry before and yet you've never done anything physical just with your words. I was not prepared for your cruel words that day. I should have been."

I sighed and dropped my hands. "You don't know what I'm capable of. I drove Gozaburo into suicide. You almost committed suicide because of my words. Don't you think I'm more deadly with what I say than what I do?"

"You're still suffering from Gozaburo."

"I never said I was healed. I stopped seeing my doctor when he told me that I was the one holding myself back. I could understand where he is seeing that; however, my life is fast pace and there isn't enough time to stop and deal with my mental anguish. You, on the other hand, have much more there to help you. You have friends that care about you, that want to see succeed in everything you do. They are more than willing to help hold you up, walk with you through ever pain you experience. Why would you sacrifice that just to have someone like me?"

"Who says I have to sacrifice them."

"They would never accept you dating me."

"That's not true."

"It is. Yugi won't look at me and barely speaks to me because he knows I'm the cause of you being in a coma. Don't give him up just to be with me. I'm not worth the trouble."

Jounouchi reached out his hand towards me. I naturally backed away until it landed gently on my right cheek. "Don't," he whispered, moving closer to me. "It's just you and me here. No one can see what we are doing. How long have you been chasing people away just to protect them from you? Is that why you always said cruel things to me? Do you like me?"

The world faded around us and I found myself staring at Jounouchi's opened eyes. He gently touched my hand. I don't remember falling asleep sitting next to him, but apparently this was the end to the sleepless nights until something else plagues me. "I'm not someone to fight for. Stay with Yugi. Find someone else that will love you unconditionally and never hurt you. If you stay with me, I'll hurt you over and over again." I glanced up at the clock. In a couple minutes Yugi would be here to visit or at least it would be the time I'm normally not here.

I got up, but soft fingers wrapped around my wrist. "If I'm not with you, I may not find anyone. But..." he trailed off to lick his dry lips. "If that is what you want, I'll let you go if you answer one question for me." I nodded, staring down at him. "How do you truly feel about me?"

For a few minutes, I debated the pros and cons to telling him the truth. I weighed the options of whether he would truly let me go or was just looking for an excuse to find the truth. I placed my hand over his and gently unwrapped his fingers. "I'm a cold-hearted bastard. I care for no one but my company and myself. Even Mokuba is not an exception to the rule. If it came down to him or my company, I know I won't choose him. I could never love someone else. There isn't any room in the ice that surrounds my soul. I'm sorry, I don't love you. But, do me a favor. Don't kill yourself or lock yourself in a coma. Yugi is looking for a reason to take me off this planet or make me a drooling vegetable for the remainder of my life. I'm sure I deserve that, but I haven't finished what I wanted to do in my life yet. I'm glad that you're okay, but don't bother coming to see me again. My secretary won't let you in next time." I gently placed his hand down on the blanket and walked out of the room without looking at him. "It was for the best," I mentally told myself as I exit the hospital. If I did one selfless thing in my life, it would be to protect him from my evil heart. I didn't deserve happiness or love no matter how much I craved it. I turned and took one last look at the hospital. I've done too many evil things to deserve a love like him. "I'm sorry," I whispered before climbing into the waiting limousine


	3. Chapter 3

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Days went by with no word from either Jounouchi or Yugi. I tried telling myself that I wasn't worried and that everything was going back to normal, but that growing pain inside my heart refused to subside. I didn't want to lie to Jounouchi or hurt him further, but life for him would be easier without me in it. I stared at the computer in front of me, correcting all my mistakes from the last couple of days where my eyes were too tired to focus. I stopped and glanced out the large windows. It was raining again. I hated the rain; it reminded me of the memory where Jounouchi tried to kill himself.

I rose and walked over to the window, placing my hands behind my back. The world seemed dead with the rain slaughtering any hope of enjoying the day outside. A flash of lighting surged across the sky. I watched it as it formed a pattern through the dark clouds. A rumble of thunder vibrated my glass and wall. The weather reflected the torment I felt inside even though I would never outwardly show it. My ever present emotionless mask remained firmly placed to hide everything I felt. I placed my hand on the glass.

I heard my office door click open and shut, assuming it was my secretary delivering more messages for me, I didn't bother turning around. Usually she placed everything on the corner of my desk and walked back out regardless of what I was doing. After a few moments when I didn't hear her leave again, I turned around to address her, but my words stopped in my mouth. Standing close to the door was Jounouchi. His hair dripped water onto his shirt. We stared at each other, neither one of us saying anything. I gave specific instructions to not let him in, but whatever relationship my secretary had with him was stronger than her fear of my reaction.

He took a step closer to me. "We need to talk," he said softly.

I leaned against the glass. "We have nothing to talk about. I told you that when you woke."

Jounouchi frowned and stepped closer to me. I didn't feel intimated by that. He didn't scare me. "I think you were trying to push me away like you push everyone away. I think you're afraid of letting someone close to you, afraid that they would see that you're not as scary as everyone believes. I believe that you want to be with me, but you don't want to hurt me. I think someone needs to show you that you deserve to be with someone and you won't hurt them. I think your brother is the only exception to the rule, but that just shows that you can love someone without hurting them."

Slowly Jounouchi continued to approach me as if he was walking towards a scared animal. It angered me that he would view me as that. "I hurt Mokuba all the time. He doesn't have enough money to leave me yet. That's why he chose to live on the dorms at his college. Once he's financially secure he'll leave just like everyone else."

Jounouchi smiled softly. "That's a lie. I know for a fact that Mokuba is not ever planning on leaving your side. He loves you and admires you. He also knows, like everyone else, that people who love each other will still fight. He never takes anything you say in a fit of rage seriously." He placed his hand on either side of me, trapping me against the window. "How about starting with the truth. Tell me how you truly feel about me."

I sighed and uncrossed my arms. I thought for several long minutes on whether I should tell him the truth. I placed my hands on his shoulder and gently pushed him away. "Haven't I hurt you enough?" I turned and walked away from him, over to my desk. I felt him pull on my wrist and push me against the window again. He sealed our lips together before I could get a word out. Time slowed and nothing else matter but him and I.

Our lips danced in a silent harmony, neither one of us demanding more than the gentle caress. We broke apart after a few minutes. He left me breathless against the glass unable to draw a thought through my once hectic mind. He stared at me, using his thumb to rub circles into my wrist as if waiting for me to speak. I sighed and finally found the one word that I yearned to speak. "Why?"

"Why, what? Why do I continue to fight for your affection? Why can't I let you go even though you may say you don't want me? I know you are hiding behind that mask. I know you love me as much as I love you. My question to you should be why won't you let me in?"

I slowly closed my eyes, gathering all my thoughts together. I opened them again, gently placing my hand on the side of his cheek. "If I let you in, you'll see all the pain that I keep hidden from everyone."

"I've showed you my pain, let me see yours. We can start our relationship by sharing the pain."

I walked over towards the leather couch and sat down. "You don't need my burden. I'll carry yours but you don't need mine."

"No," Jounouchi said firmly. "A relationship consists of sharing. Tell me, Kaiba. Tell me what causes pain to shine through your eyes."

I cupped my hands together and searched through my rational thoughts. I can't reveal anything to Jounouchi. I feared that he would take my dark secrets and sell them to the highest bidder even though I knew he'd never do that. "Gozaburo wasn't the tender hearted father like he was preserved. Everyone thought that he adopted us because he was kind hearted. The truth was that he needed someone that he could control even after he died. He spent several months breaking my will and even more months training me to be his living puppet. Even to this day, I notice that if I'm not careful, I slip into the puppet he created. That is why you shouldn't be near me. Yugi may have banished the darkness in my soul, but he could never make me forget everything that was drilled into me.

"Did he give you a choice?"

"What?"

"Did Gozaburo say to do it his way or he'll kill you or did he say you could do it this way or that way?"

"He threatened to beat Mokuba to death while I watched helpless to do anything to prevent it," I answered quickly without realizing it.

"I don't think that makes you a bad person you know. Somewhere inside of that ice you've formed, there is a warm heart." Jounouchi moved and gently took my hands. "Why can't you see that you are more than this?"

I growled and pulled away from him. I moved quickly across the room and towards my desk. I pushed a few buttons to the locked bottom drawer and picked out several letters that were sent to me. I threw them on the desk just as Jounouchi walked over. "If I was the good person you say I am then I wouldn't see hundreds of these every day." Jounouchi picked a few of the letters up, reading them slowly before tucking them back in their envelopes. I knew what each one of them said. They all expressed their opinion on how the world would be better without me. A few of them were graphic on the different ways I should die and then a couple said I should have been thrown out the window instead of Gozaburo.

Jounouchi gathered the stack in his hands. "How many of these do you get a day?"

"Too many to count."

"Do you ever get any mail that praises you?"

I rolled my eyes. "You mean the ones that are pink, smelly and telling me how much they want to marry me. Oh yes, I get them all the time. They only send them because I'm rich, run a company, smart and apparently attractive to them."

"You do realize that some of them are your good qualities."

I snorted and shook my head. "So you're attracted to me because I'm smart and have a lot of money?"

"No, those are petty things to be attracted to you with. I'm in love with who you are. One o things you do is make like easier for children who don't have families. How many of those yearly passes for your parks get donated to local orphanages? How many times have you drove by those same orphanages and sent money to them when it looks like they need renovations?"

I glared at him. "What makes you say that?"

"I've seen one of your limousines drive by an orphanage close to my house. The next day the woman who runs it told me she that a group of men showed up and volunteered to do any repairs she needed it on top of a box of money was received with no return on it. Tell me the truth, Kaiba. Did you do that?"

I growled and sat down. "I wouldn't do something like that. Why would I care if those children have fun? I had no childhood myself and that didn't stop me from becoming who I am now."

Jounouchi slammed his hands down on my desk. "Enough of the lies! Why can't you just tell me one truth? You say you don't love me but I know you do. I can see it. Why else would you allow me this much of your time? I know you care about orphan children because you want to give them something you never had the chance of getting for yourself. You make it seem like you are the devil incarnate but you are more like a fall angel in disguise. I think with a little more push, you should be able to love someone without fear of hurting them or being hurt yourself. Everyone would then see a more relaxed and sensitive person even though I'm sure you don't want them to see you as that. I'm sure this cruel personality helps in business deals, but you shouldn't have to hide behind that forever. Try little things at first. Maybe let the orphanage know you are donating to them and see how the public reacts if you are afraid of them."

Sometimes Jounouchi could make sense. Even his rational mind could change the public's opinion of me. Not that any of that matter. As long as my brother knew I wasn't heartless, that's all that mattered. I stared down at the letters. If that was true, then why did I keep all the hate mail? Why wouldn't I just throw them away? I sighed and put the letters back in the drawer. "It makes no difference what people think of me. I think it's time you leave."

Jounouchi glared at me but didn't make any motions of leaving. "I'll leave if you truthfully answer one question." I couldn't understand why he kept doing that. As if one answer would change anything. When I didn't answer he took that as a right to continue. "What did Gozaburo do to you the night of Mokuba's first birthday after being adopted by him?"

The shock of the question sent my mind spiraling out of control. I feared that Gozaburo was influencing my life again. How could someone like him know about that night? He didn't say he knew anything, but he hinted that he knew something. No one but Gozaburo and I knew exactly what happened. Gozaburo died with that part of my life sealed in his cold lips. Mokuba knew something happened, but I never told anyone. "It was a week before I started to plot the hostile take over of his company. Mokuba was excited because this would be the first year he could have anything he wanted. Gozaburo seemed to change during that week. He was nice to Mokuba and encouraged him to tell him what he wanted for his birthday from presents to the types of food. I never trusted him, but if it made Mokuba happy, I could sacrifice some of my suspicions for that one day."

I walked over to the window and stared at the clearing sky. The storm didn't last long. "I should have never gave up any of my suspicions. The day was great. I remembered how happy he was enjoying all the presents and food. The only sad thing was that he didn't have any friends but he told me it was okay because he had me for once. Gozaburo constantly took me away for my studies but he didn't do it that day. I play for hours with Mokuba until he fell asleep in his room. Gozaburo came in after that to inform me that I had to pay for his happiness."

I grunted my teeth and placed my hand on the glass. "Every toy, every free moment with him and every bit of his food. That was the only time he had ever physically abused me. By the time he was finish, I could barely move or breathe. It took one of his servants an hour or two to finally clean all the blood off me. Luckily, after all the abuse, I only had one scar. I feared that I would have too many to hide from Mokuba. The next morning, he asked me every time he saw me what was wrong. I could never tell him. In fact, I turned angry. I started blaming him for what happened, but I was angrier with myself. I should have known Gozaburo wouldn't do anything without a price. After I destroyed him and watched him take a jump out the window that still wasn't enough to satisfy the blood lust."

I turned and faced Jounouchi. "I didn't care for Mokuba or any of you. You were in my way and I was going to destroy you. How can you say that I'm capable of love when all I'm after is my own benefit? What makes you trust me? After I finished with you or even bored, I could throw you out and I won't care if you don't have anything. Are you really willing to risk that?"

"Yes."

My eyes widened in shock. He didn't even hesitate. "You may think that now."

"I think you are capable of showing love and caring considering that you are doing everything you can to protect me from a what if situation. And that situation will never happen."

"How do you know that?"

"I trust you."

I sighed and moved back over to the desk and sat down on the chair. "You're not going to leave until I agree to try are you?"

"Now you are understanding me."

"This is a change from how you were just a few weeks ago. What happened to giving up?"

"I realized that if I wanted you, I have to fight for you."

"You make me sound like some princess in a fairytale."

Jounouchi chuckled. "I wouldn't mind being your prince."

I rolled my eyes, Sometimes he could get on my last nerve. "Where's your bodyguard today?"

"Yugi went back to Egypt where his grandfather is working. It took me a little bit to convince him that I was fine. He doesn't approve me coming to see you today, but he wasn't going to stop me."

Jounouchi's stomach suddenly gave a loud growl that seemed to vibrate the office. I hid my smile behind my hand, watching as his face turned three shades of red. I couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping my lips. "I guess we finalized that contract. How about we seal it with a meal?" I offered, trying to keep my laughs under control.

He turned suddenly angry. "Laugh it up, Kaiba! As if your stomach never growls."

"Not that loud. What did you do go without eating for a week?"

Jounouchi shrugged. "More like a few hours." I stared dumbfounded at him. A few hours? In a few hours he was that hungry. "What?" he snapped angrily. "I'm still trying to catch up on my missed meals while I was in that coma."

I chuckled again. "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything." I turned my computer off and packed all the paperwork I planned on working on into my briefcase. Carrying it over to the door, I waited for Jounouchi to walk in front of me before locking my office. Apparently time flew while I was talking to him because there was no employees left in the building. The ride down to the main lobby was quiet. Jounouchi was oddly didn't say a word. He must have used everything he had in his mind to say while we were in the office.

I didn't know whether to start a conversation or leave the silence linger. My thoughts ran rampant. I wondered how much courage and preparations Jounouchi did before coming to my office. I wondered if I should take the chance of letting him get close to me. Everyone that I truly cared about besides my brother always ran from me once they began to know me. So far everything that I did to push Jounouchi away only made him remain fully in place. I glanced over at Jounouchi. I did miss him and his smiles. Not the ones that he would smirk when he thought he was better than everyone, the ones that would cause his eyes to sparkle. I sighed in defeat. I was in love with Jounouchi. There was nothing I could do about the gravitational pull that he unleashed towards me. I smiled as I waited for Jounouchi to slide into the limousine. Maybe I could give this a chance.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Could a year fly by without someone noticing? I would say yes. A year. Can you believe that? I've been with Jounouchi for an entire year and nothing horrible has happened. He made it through every angry event in my life. He was even my outlet a few times, but all he did was smile and told me that everything was going to be fine. Yugi had finally stopped watching me like a hawk a few months ago. There wasn't a day during those first few months after Jounouchi and I made our relationship official that he didn't call me and threaten to unleash Atemu's darkness on me if I were to hurt Jounouchi. Not that I wanted to hurt the blond beauty. I shook my head rapidly, realizing that I was staring at the wall in front of me like some love sick teenage girl.

I smoothed out the invisible wrinkles in my suit and stood to pace. Today was the day...or not. I bit my lip nervously and opened the locked drawer. Gone were the letters that made me sound like the devil incarnate and now a small black box sat in the huge drawer. I tapped my foot and shut the drawer, hearing the auto lock click in place. Maybe not today. I couldn't believe that I was nervous. Who would have ever thought? I've only been going out with Jounouchi for a year now. Are you tired of me telling you that yet? I'm in shock. "Flowers would be too girly," I thought, trying to solve the puzzle of asking Jounouchi to marry me.

"Dinner and a movie," I continued to think but nothing sounded right for Jounouchi. I continued to stare down at the sheet in front of me, not reading any of the words. For a month now I've been fretting over asking Jounouchi, but I couldn't find the perfect scenario that would guarantee a positive answer. Crossing off more and more scenarios, I finally decided that perhaps I should just ask him and not plan anything else.

I opened my briefcase and placed the small box inside. I moved out of my office and pass my secretary. She never questioned when I left, not that I expected her to anyway. I rode the elevator all the way down to the lobby, not paying attention to anyone who entered nor exited. My mind felt oddly distracted and I was unable to focus on the tasks for the day. It infuriated me that this one blond man could influence my thought pattern and leave it destroyed. I left the elevator, moving swiftly towards the exit until I heard my name being shouted. I turned, thinking it might have been an employee addressing me informally, but I was shocked to see Jounouchi running towards me. "What is it?"

"I was coming to see you. Luckily I saw you leaving the elevator before I got into a different one. You seem distracted today. What's wrong?"

I wanted to scream that he was the reason for my distraction, but my lips refused to say something cruelly. "Nothing," I answered, still moving out of the building. I didn't like talking to him while at work, not because I was embarrassed to be openly gay, but I didn't like people knowing my private life. He continued walking behind me and got into the limousine with me.

"Are you going to tell me now or wait until we got home?"

Home. I smiled to the word. For a long time I didn't think Jounouchi would ever call the mansion home. He tried making it on his own. Working and paying all the bills to continue to live in Yugi's house. I let him, not wanting to crush his pride. I would offer once a month until finally he told me he would like to move in. Even to this day we still have separate bedrooms. We don't use them half the time, but I feel more comfortable knowing that we're taking this slowly. We haven't even slept together. Shocking, huh? It did get close a few times, but I always stopped it. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was still in disbelief that Jounouchi wanted me as much as I wanted him. "Kaiba," he called.

I shuddered hearing that name coming out of his lips. "Why do you still call me that?"

"I don't think I should address you as Seto until your bedroom or my bedroom becomes ours."

"Fine. It can become ours once you become my husband." There it slipped. All the weeks of planning and struggling to find the perfect time to ask him, it came as a slip of the tongue in the backseat of my limousine. I groaned and looked out the window. He remained silent before he started chuckling.

"I thought if you were to ask me, I would get a ring."

I reached for the briefcase, putting in the code to opened it and lifted out the small black box. I opened it, revealing a small silver ring that had a dragon with its tail wrapping around the band of the ring. Its eyes shined bright blue. He ran his finger along it before taking it out of the case. "How long did you have this?"

"Almost a month."

"I can't believe you've been worrying about this that long. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't want to bother you. Of course I will marry you." He held his hand out. I smiled and slipped it on his finger.

"I wanted something more glamorous, but I guess the back of a limousine is fine."

Jounouchi punched me in the arm. "Stop. I thought we agreed to not wallow on things. I would have told you yes even if you asked me in the middle of your office." Jounouchi leaned up and kissed me. "I'm planning the wedding and the honeymoon. You have no say in it."

I laughed. "As long as you give me three weeks noticed. I need to plan for a long honeymoon."

He smiled brightly at me before curling up beside me. "We'll decide the date together, but everything else is my plan." I played with his hair, running my fingers through the soft locks and down the back of his neck. I knew he was only saying this to keep the pressure off me. If he planned the wedding, I could focus on getting the company ahead of schedule in order to accommodate a few weeks off. I leaned my head on his head, knowing that the trip home would be short, but I was exhausted. Too much worry was a killer on the body. At least now, I had all I needed to live the rest of my life happily.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I hope you liked it. Don't forget to read my other two that should be uploaded within the next couple of days. I just want to look over them one more time before I uploaded. Don't ask me where this idea came from it actually wasn't suppose to go this way when I first wrote it. Thank you all for reading. Let me know what you though


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